Carnival Glass by Bill Edwards, Mike Carwile (2003, Hardcover)

CARNIVAL GLASS: THE BEST OF THE BEST by Bill Edwards & Mike Carwile (2003)

This is a first-rate gift book. It reminds me of poring over Neiman Marcus toy catalogs as a child, while my mother stood behind me saying, “Dream away, Sugar, because your imagination is the closest you’ll ever get to buying anything in there.” (I recall life-sized stuffed animals, a personal merry-go-round for your own back yard, and even a Noah’s Ark with pairs of live animals.) This book by Edwards and Carwile, the authors of THE STANDARD ENCYLOPEDIA OF CARNIVAL GLASS, features the dazzling examples of carnival glass most of us probably will never glimpse, much less own, and in doing so, the book communicates successfully the impressiveness of that glass designed by those small-town Middle American companies at the dawn of the Twentieth Century. This book’s full title is CARNIVAL GLASS -- THE BEST OF THE BEST: IDENTIFICATION GUIDE TO RARE AND UNUSUAL PIECES. And that’s just what it is. There’s the exquisite Dragon’s Tongue plate, with the graceful beauty and symmetry of microscopic sea life; the absurdly rare Fenton Fern plate with its delicate arrangement of fronds; the aqua opalescent Peacock-at-the Fountain punch set that's become emblematic of Northwood glass at its finest; and, of course, the Millersburg trout looking lifelike enough to jump out of one of those two-of-a kind amethyst bowls. I confess, I have moments while perusing this book's photographs when I feel like a starving dog who's been given a rubber bone. Nevertheless, there’s no denying that this book would make a perfect present or coffee table volume for any carnival glass collector. The printed photography in this volume is superb, the layout of the book pleasing to the eye, and the accompanying text just meaty enough to keep you riveted.

[ADDED NOTE: This book is published by Collector Books; pub. Date 2004; 208 pages with color photographs; large format - approx. 9 x 11 inches.] PLEASE LEAVE US FEEDBACK BY VOTING BELOW ON THE REVIEW.